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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · wax · perch · kick · straw · pop · march · ball

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. march — the month
  3. pop — to visit
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. pop — soda
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. ball — a great time
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ball — a dance
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. perch — the fish
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — music
  20. pop — music
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kick — in football
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com